Some of Open House Dublin’s most popular buildings return to the programme this year, including Liberty Hall, Busaras, Iveagh House, Commissioners of Irish Lights and Airbnb!
SIPTU LIBERTY HALL
One of Dublin’s most iconic buildings, Liberty Hall is the headquarters of SIPTU, while the site has been at the heart of the neighbourhood and Ireland’s trade union movement since 1912. This is a rare opportunity to travel to the roof terrace of Ireland’s first skyscraper. Places on this tour on Saturday 14 October will be distributed using a lottery, which has now closed.
BUSÁRAS
An example of the international Modernist Style, and strongly influenced by Le Corbusier, Busáras attracted much international attention when it was completed after the Second World War. The building was designed to house a bus terminus and transport company offices. It also featured a small newsreel cinema to occupy travelers in the basement. The bright and colourful top floor restaurant was originally intended to be open to the public: a restaurant during the day and a nightclub in the evening. Constructed of reinforced concrete with Portland stone cladding, and decorated with mosaics by Patrick Scott, Busáras remains one of the landmarks of modern architecture in Ireland. Visit on Saturday 14 October from 11.00am – 4.00pm and Sunday 15 October from 12.00pm – 4.00pm.
IVEAGH HOUSE
Iveagh House, now home to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, was first designed in 1736 by Richard Cassels and remodeled in the 19th Century, when a Portland Stone facade was added. Behind this facade is a large house dating from three distinct periods with a highly decorated sumptuous interior. Visit on Saturday 14 October from 11.00am – 5.00pm.
AIRBNB
Airbnb’s Warehouse on Hanover Quay is a building of architectural and historical interest, previously home to Dublin Trawling Ice & Cold Storage from 1865 to the 1950s and the Raleigh Bicycle Factory from 1954 to 1980. The warehouse was derelict until 2016, until a careful and faithful restoration and renovation was carried out by RKD architects and fitted out by Heneghan Peng. The three stories of the warehouse are designed around a central atrium amphitheatre, which serves as the heart of the building. Meeting rooms that are replicas of listings on the Airbnb platform, with a few iconic Irish inclusions, invite you to travel around the world and across Ireland as you walk through the space. Open Saturday 14 October from 11.00am – 5.00pm and Sunday 15 October from 12.00pm – 5.00pm.
COMMISSIONERS OF IRISH LIGHTS
The corporate headquarters of the Commissioners of Irish Lights, open on Sunday 15 October from 12.00pm – 5.00pm, provides an iconic landmark building that integrates seamlessly into its marine environment. The complex comprises two main structures – a circular open-plan office building, linked via an elegant glass enclosed bridge, to a rectilinear engineering maintenance facility. The building utilises many innovative technologies to ensure sustainable building design and energy efficiency.
Open House Dublin (OHD) invites Dublin’s citizens to explore their city as when buildings not usually accessible to the public and buildings of architectural merit open their doors over the weekend of October 13th – 15th
All architectural tours are provided by expert guides, with free admission. For full details check out openhousedublin.com The weekend is organised by Irish Architecture Foundation.
